Apparatus for handling cylindrical blanks

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for handling cylindrical blanks where an infeed mechanism successively feeds the blanks into a forming machine and a check on the infeed varies the presentation speed of the blank for hammering and a removal mechanism strips the hammered blanks from the apparatus.

United States Patent m1 Rackow I 1 Jan. 23, 1973 APPARATUS FOR HANDLING2.4l6,048 2/1947 Evans ..72/420 CYLINDRICAL BLANKS 1,162,301 11/1915Moffet 72/3 3,452,577 7/1969 Schrneltzer ..72/427 [75] inventor: MartinL. Rackow, Janesville, WIS.

Primary Examiner-Charles W. Lanham [73] Assignee: The Parker PenC0.,.lanesv|lle,Wis.

Filed: Jan. 25, 1971 Appl. No.: 109,394

US. Cl. ..72/3, 72/421, 72/427 Int. Cl ..B21d 55/00, B2ld 43/00 Field ofSearch ..72/3, 420, 421, 427

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS Sager ..72/420 AssistantExaminer-R. M. Rogers Attorney-John E. Fabke and Howard M. Herriot [57]ABSTRACT Apparatus for handling cylindrical blanks where an infeedmechanism successively feeds the blanks into a forming machine and acheck on the infeed varies the presentation speed of the blank forhammering and a removal mechanism strips the hammered blanks from theapparatus.

3 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 23 W5 SHEET 1 [IF Q I InventorMuffin LuRackow PATENTED JAN 2 3 1975 SHEET 2 [IF 4 I m'veni'o rPATENTEDJANZB ms 3,712,093

Mum rzkor Marfirz L.Rackow' APPARATUS FOR HANDLING CYLINDRICAL BLANKSBACKGROUND or THE INVENTION It will be recognized by those skilled inthe art, that a cylinder being fed into the hammers of a swagingmachine, should be advanced at a controlled rate of speed. In theinterests of economics, all other movement of the feeding apparatusshould be at a relatively faster speed. By checking the advance movementas the blank enters the swaging machine, maximum efficiency ofproduction is achieved and parts of uniform proportions are deliveredfrom the forming apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION With the foregoing in mind, it is a principalobject of this invention to provide improved apparatus for handlingcylindrical blanks in association with a swaging machine for theformation of uniformly accurate cylindrical parts.

Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus which iseconomically feasible for installation in a system in which cylindricalblanks are fed into and removed from a swaging'machine.

A feature of this invention is the provision of increased productioncapacity where cylindrical blanks are being successively fed from asupply.

An additional object of this invention is to provide novel means forfeeding onto and removing from an arbor, cylindrical blanks.

Further objects and features as well as advantages of this inventionwill become apparent as the following description of an illustratedembodiment thereof proceeds andis given for the purpose of disclosureand is taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in'which likecharacter references designate like partsthroughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION 'OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the several figures and first toFIG.

1 there is shown cylindrical blanks which are conveyed to a chute 22adapted for handling cylindrical blanks embodying this invention in anoriented relationship so that their axes are relatively parallel.

FIG. 1 is a right hand perspective view of apparatus incorporating theprinciples of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a left hand perspective view of a fragmentary portion of theapparatus of FIG. 1, showing magazine and automatic feeding mechanisms;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view showing a sectioned cylindrical blank onan arbor;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the magazine and automatic feedingmechanism;

I FIG. 4 is a vertical view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 4 lookinginthe direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a fragmentary portion ofthe-hold-down'portion of the magazine;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the automatic feeding mechanism;

FIG. 8 is anelevational view of'the apparatus shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a top *plan view of theapparatus shown in FIG. 1 illustratingthcapparatus rotated from the swagingmachine;

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of the unloading mechanism; and

FIG. 11 is a sectional viewtaken along the line lI-- IIof'FIG'. '10looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

The blanks 20 are positioned in a continuous series and move through thechute 22 toward a hold-down mechanism 24 (FIG. 10). The hold-downmechanism includes a clamp 26 contoured to engage the exterior surfaceof a blank at the feed end of chute 22 where blank is in a position tobe fed from the chute. Said chute includes a stop 28 which holds thebottommost of the cylinder blanks in a position to be fed axiallytherefrom for further processing. The contoured surface of the clamp 26is reciprocal and is held against the exterior surface of a blank whichhas its side nesting against stop 28 with such a force as to create asubstantial drag when the blank is moved in axial direction as duringfeeding of the blank onto an arbor 34. The reciprocal movement of theclamp may be controlled by any suitable means such as air clamp 30. Asuitable air clamp is manufactured by Mead Fluid Dynamics, A Division ofMead Specialties Co., 41 14 N. Knox Avenue, Chicago, Ill. 60641 and soldas a midget air clamp, Model H-l.

The blank being held down by clamp 26 is in position to be fed by anautomatic feed mechanism 32 (FIG. 1) onto the arbor 34 around which thepart will be formed by a conventional rotary swaging machine 36 having a.plurality of rotating hammers for forming the blank about the arbor.

As shown in FIG. 9 the automatic feeding mechanism of this invention issecured to a mounting bracket 38 which is hinged to the rotary swagingmachine 36 at 40 so that the feeding mechanism can be rotated away fromthe swaging machine for maintenance purposes. Toggle clamps 42 attachedto the swaging machine 36 secure the feeding mechanism to the swagingmachine during operation.

The automatic feeding mechanism 32 is mounted on a base 44 which issecurely fastened to mounting bracket 38. A cylinder mount 46 isconnected to base 44 by tie bars 48. A front guide bushing 50 isconnected to base 44 and a rear guide bushing 52 is connected tocylinder mount 46. A stationary rack 54 is mounted between the base 44and the cylinder mount 46. The teeth of the stationary rack 54 areengaged by a round rack 56, the teeth of which in turn engage a feedrack 58 which is slidably mounted for axial movement in the bushings 50and 52. Thus, as round rack 56 moves along stationary rack 54, rack 56moves feed rack 58 in the same relative direction that the round rack ismoving. The arbor 34 is attached for axial movement to one end of feedrack 58 by suitable means. As the feed rack is moved by operation ofround rack 56, the arbor 34 is moved into the inside of a cylinder blank20 which is being held down by mechanism 24 as hereinbefore described.Continued movement of the arbor strips the blank from the hold-downforce of mechanism 24 and inserts the blank into the rotary swagingmachine 36 for forming by the hammers thereof. The round rack 56 isrotatably mounted on an H-block 60 that is connected to a conventionalair cylinder 62 which is used for high speed part insertion andejection. As the air cylinder moves the round rack toward the swagingmachine the blank being held on the arbor 34 is continuously moved intothe swaging machine for formation by the hammers thereof. The rack speedfor delivering the part to the swaging machine is ideally relativelyfast, however, during the forming of the part the forward movement ofthe air cylinder should be at a relatively slower speed. To control thefeeding portion of the air cylinder stroke, a hydraulic cylinder 64 isattached to the cylinder mount 46. A piston rod 66 of the hydrauliccylinder 64 extends through the cylinder mount 46. Basically, thehydraulic cylinder 64 is of conventional design in that it has areservoir for holding hydraulic fluid to control the axial rate of speedthat the piston rod travels. A suitable hydraulic cylinder is theHydrocheck, Model No. HC12B-6, manufactured by Bellows-Valvair, Divisionof IBEC, Akron, Ohio 44309. A jam nut 68 is threaded onto the piston rod66 and positioned to be engaged by a shoulder 70 formed of the H- block60 just as the blank is entering the swaging machine. When the shoulder70 engages the jam nut 68 the operation of hydraulic cylinder 64 causesa drag on the operation of air cylinder 62 and thus reduces the speed atwhich the arbor is moving axially into the swaging machine. A limitswitch 72 is connected to the base 44 and another limit switch 74 isconnected to the cylinder mount 46. The limit switches 72 and 74 areconventionally connected to the air cylinder 62 for controlling therelative forward and backward movements of the arbor 34. A forwardswitch activator 75 is connected to l-l-block 60 for engaging andoperating limit switch 72 and a rearward switch activator 76 is attachedto the H-block for engagement with an operation of limit switch 74. Aswitch 78 having a movable arm 80 is mounted to one of the tie bars 48and is operatively connected to activate the air clamp 30 for holdingdown a blank being received upon the arbor 34 as it is moving toward theswaging machine. A toggle bar 82 pivotally mounted to the l-l-block 60at 84 is movable by arm 80. The toggle bar is pivotable by arm 80without affecting the switch as the H-block and thus the arbor 34 ismoving relatively away from the swaging machine. However, when theH-block and arbor are moving toward the swaging machine the toggle baris prevented from pivoting by engagement with the H- block and thus thetoggle bar operates arm 80 and moves arm 80 for operating switch 78,thereby actuating air clamp 30 as hereinbefore described.

To remove a formed blank from the arbor, an unloading mechanism 86 showngenerally in FlGS. l and 11 is provided. The unloading mechanism ismounted to the chute 22 and includes a mount 88. A lever 90 includes adowel 92 for pivotally mounting the lever to the mount 88. The mountincludes a longitudinal opening 94 which is dimensioned to retain thedowel 92 and provide for limited longitudinal movement along the opening94. The lever can pivot about dowel 92 away from chute 22 but isengageable with chute 22 to prevent pivotal movement toward theautomatic feeding mechanism. A stripper plate 96 is connected to lever90 and a roller 98 is rotatably mounted on the lever 90 and as best seenin FIG. extends a slight distance below the outer free end of stripperplate 96. The roller is positioned so as to always ride on the arhor.The longitudinal slot or opening 94 provides for relative up and downmovement of the lever to correct for any dimensional intolerances in thearbor and also to provide an arrangement whereby arbors of differentdiameters may be used without requiring adjustment of the unloadingmechanism 86. In operation when the arbor 34 is moving away from theswaging machine with a formed blank, the stripper plate is engaged bythe blank and moved relatively toward the automatic feeding mechanism.When the lever 90 engages the chute 22, stripper plate 96 can no longermove and thus provides a stop which holds the blank and strips the blankfrom the arbor moving relatively away from the blank. Once the finishedblank is removed from the arbor, it simply drops away by gravity. Toindicate to the apparatus when a part has not been stripped from thearbor, such as in the case when a part stays in the swaging machine andwould cause a smashup should a second blank be forced into the machinewhile the first blank is still there, a lever arm 100 is connected tolever 90 for engagement with a contact 102 that is connected into thecircuit of the air cylinder. If there is no pivotal movement of lever90, such as in the case when no part is stripped from the arbor, thelever arm 100 does not engage contact 102 and air cylinder 62 isrendered inoperative and thus the arbor can not make a successiveforward movement and feed another part or blank into the machine. Anysuitable switching means, such as a limit switch, could be used in placeofa contact 102.

Thus, this invention has provided a magazine for feeding cylindricalblanks to an automatic feeding mechanism which is movable at varying yetcontrolled rates of axial speed and further provides an unloadingmechanism to strip formed blanks from the arbor ofthe feeding mechanismand operates to stop the feeding mechanism in the event that theunloading mechanism has not been properly activated by a formed blank.

Thus, it will be appreciated that all of the recited objects, advantagesand features of the present invention have been demonstrated asobtainable in a highly practical apparatus for handling cylindricalblanks and one that is not only simple and positive in operation butalso inexpensive and easy to manufacture. it will be further understoodthat although the invention has been described with respect to certainspecific embodiments thereof, it is not limited thereto, since variousmodifications of said invention will suggest themselves from theaforesaid description and are intended to be encompassed with the scopeof the appended claims wherein there is claimed:

l claim:

1. Apparatus for handling cylindrical blanks being shaped by a formingmachine comprising:

an arbor dimensioned for receiving a blank about the arbor;

means associated with the arbor for feeding the blank onto the arbor;

means for axially moving the arbor in operative relation with theforming machine,

means for slowing the axial moving means as the blank is being shapedand means associated with the arbor for removing the blank after beingshaped by the forming machine including means for rendering theapparatus inoperative after malfunction of the removing means, astripper plate positioned to engage the shaped blank on the arbor beingaxially moved from the forming machine and to strip the shaped blankfrom the arbor, means for pivotally supporting said stripper plate,

means for detecting pivotal movement of the stripper plate when theplate is removing a shaped blank from the arbor and for detecting whenthere is no such pivotal movement of the stripper plate to operate themeans for rendering the apparatus inoperative, and said stripper plateis mounted for

1. Apparatus for handling cylindrical blanks being shaped by a formingmachine comprising: an arbor dimensioned for receiving a blank about thearbor; means associated with the arbor for feeding the blank onto thearbor; means for axially moving the arbor in operative relation with theforming machine, means for slowing the axial moving means as the blankis being shaped and means associated with the arbor for removing theblank after being shaped by the forming machine including means forrendering the apparatus inoperative after malfunction of the removingmeans, a stripper plate positioned to engage the shaped blank on thearbor being axially moved from the forming machine and to strip theshaped blank from the arbor, means for pivotally supporting saidstripper plate, means for detecting pivotal movement of the stripperplate when the plate is removing a shaped blank from the arbor and fordetecting when there is no such pivotal movement of the stripper plateto operate the means for rendering the apparatus inoperative, and saidstripper plate is mounted for operative longitudinal movement wherebythe stripper plate is operative despite arbor variations.
 2. Apparatusas claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for axially moving the arborcomprises a train of gears.
 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 whereinsaid means for feeding the blank onto the arbor further comprises meansfor successively feeding individual blanks into a position forengagement by the arbor and means for holding the blank in the positionas the arbor engages the blank.